With Hallowe'en a few days away and a toddler in the house, we are keeping things as scare-free as possible. Bunting is definitely one of the trendiest party decorations these days, but it also fits nicely into everyday decor (particularly for wee interiors.)

I cheated big time on the back.

My Granny used to tell me stories of mean Old Lady Barton, a nun she knew as a child. Old Lady Barton always looked pristine on the outside, but underneath her skivvies were held together with safety pins.

And so it is with this bunting.

It looks sharp on the outside, but the retro ribbon is hiding unfinished sheared edges and stray threads!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

We've been working pretzels into our Saturday morning "Strawberry Juice" tradition.
After our juice date, the three of us meander into the local bakery so O and Dabby can split a pretzel.
This weekend we decided to try our own pretzel-baking attempt with the help of Instructables http://www.instructables.com/id/Delicious-Soft-Pretzels/.
The results were yummy!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Our apartment complex had the above 5 branches from a tree stacked near the garbage last week.
Being my fathers daughter, I have no trouble delving in the garbage for treasures that I think I can salvage with a little creativity! However, this particular time it was my DH who finally got the guts to just take them, after I was pining for them every time I walked by!

First O and I went out to the balcony on a beauty of a Fall afternoon, to give the branches a power wash.

Then on the weekend, we measured ten of each 1, 2 & 3 inch pieces for Dabby to saw.

One 7 inch piece will serve as a threading log.

It smelled like Christmas!

Lastly, I took some sandpaper and smoothed out the bark.

We found some cute wooden animals so we will include these in the canvas bag with the pieces of wood for imaginative play. You can add other elements like small and large pebbles, shells, sand, plants etc. to expand on the type of theme evolving from play.

Weelicious is recipe site for families, with a focus on appetizing food for wee ones.

Admittedly, I ONLY make recipes that are simple.

I don't mind if there are loads of ingredients, but I like as little fiddle & prep as possible. Though the site is not strictly veggie, the brilliant mom who writes includes recipes for all kinds of special diets that are the norm these days.

O and I are the Veg-Heads of the household.

I get a lot of questions about how healthy our diets can be once we eliminate all animal products, but truth be told, we actually eat a healthier variety than my husband, who is a meat & potatoes man.

This recipe was a hit this afternoon. We recently bought our first jar of Sunflower Butter and it just so happened that is exactly what Weelicious' Fruit & Seed bars called for. We used cranberries, raisins and dates for the 'dried fruit' component and once we are out of Sunflower Butter, I would easily sub in tahini.

Monday, October 15, 2012

We collected some rocks from our neighbourhood and brought home shells and coral from Thailand.

Since O has been sick, these 'quiet' exploration activities fit the bill for playtime.

She uses the coral 'sticks' often and usually they become candlesticks for playdough cake.

She loves to point out the smooth and bumpy sides of the shells and stones.

Slowly but sure, she is learning how to place a single shell in each compartment of the ice cube trays, but the best part of this activity remains dumping them out.

EXPAND ON SENSORY BINS

Sensory Bin Genius remains Tinkerlab Mommy. She has sensory bins for everything you can imagine and some lovely holiday themed ideas. http://tinkerlab.com/

Cheap & Easy. No need to look further than your own home. Check out your kitchen cupboard, tool box and junk drawer for safe exploration items. Cater to the child's age keeping in mind larger items for the baby who loves to put everything in their mouths, but consider small things like nuts and bolts for your older inquisitive type!

Monday, October 8, 2012

There is nothing nicer than a baby on the way, so said sis and hubby sprung the fabulous news to our family over Thanksgiving weekend. Since we are far away in the East, we got very crazy over a Friday night phone call!

We celebrated Saturday with a little turkey and friends. But we couldn't leave Baby Landry out of the festivities, so we made him (I think it's a 'him') a little pumpkin of his own.

Then yesterday O and I left in a few seeds, added some soil and hopefully within a few days, little pumpkin Landry will be sporting a lovely green 'do! O thought it would be nice to lick his name partly off first!

Huge congratulations to my little sis and brother-in-law, who are about to have their hearts spin!

We could all learn a little something from toddlers; do not fear your creative side!

As an adult, when I paint, I forget to let the painting evolve. I sketch a plan and add or omit as I see fit, but I very rarely veer from my original plan and open myself to free-flowing creativity. I often fear or forget to add elements that would be outside the box, create an extra mess or steer far away from my goal. How sad! Creativity is a process that should be evolving all of the time, without inhibition!

Then I watched closely as O allowed the three colours to evolve naturally according to her thought process (or what I assume was her thought process!)

Lovely!

I just took pictures and did not add any input or comments.

She had a great time and took her job of being creative very seriously!

EXPAND ON CREATIVITY

Photography! O is so comfy with having her picture taken, she is now a pro about how to point and shoot! We have an older camera that has died, so she always asks for this one to 'take pictures'. I read a great post yesterday from Crayon Freckles about giving your kids access to the (real and working) camera; IF YOU GIVE YOUR KID A CAMERA (taken from the popular story If You Give A Mouse A Cookie) http://www.crayonfreckles.com/2012/09/if-you-give-kid-camera.html